Managing IS Projects: People & Politics

This subject is not offered in 2013.

120 hours

Students who are enrolled in the two year 200 point Master of Information Systems must have completed 50 points of study to enrol in this subject.

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

In this subject students practice the processes of information systems project management with a focus on people in the presence of organisational politics. The first half of the semester discusses eight of the nine knowledge areas of the PMBOK - scope, cost, time, human resources, risk, quality, communication and integration management. The second half of this subject focuses on developing skills necessary to manage projects within an organisational setting and discusses topics including project management processes; teamwork; stakeholder behavior; conflict; change management; politics; and project success factors.
A key feature of the subject is the use of a case that spans all assignments and enables students to engage with stakeholders through an LMS forum. The case provides the vehicle for students to initiate, plan and recover a project. Student teams also have the opportunity to meet with a manager from the case’s ‘project office’ to review their work and obtain guidance prior to report submission.

Upon completion of this subject students will:

• Be capable of applying the foundations of project management practice including processes, tools and techniques as represented in the Project Management Institute’s PMBOK and in the general management literature
• Be familiar with various project organisations and processes which are contingent upon the technology, organizational structures and IS methodology being used
• Have an understanding of a number of advanced and related topics including, project success and failure factors, project manager influence and power
• Have confidence in identifying problems including if a project is ‘off the rails” and solving such problems

• Class participation (10%) (ILO 1-4)

• A group assignment, in groups of 3-4, of 1500 words, due before mid-semester break (10%) (ILO 1, 2)

• A group assignment, in groups of 3-4, of 5000 words, due after mid-semester break (25%) (ILO 1, 2)

• A group 20-minute presentation and slides, in groups of 3-4, including a Powerpoint presentation of 15-20 slides, due at the end of semester (25%) (ILO 1-4)

• One take-home examination in the examination period (30%) (ILO 2-4)

Schwalbe, K. 2010 Information Technology Project Management, Course Technology: Boston.
A reading pack for this subject is available from the bookroom and contains support materials and articles related to the lectures.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students should acquire a number of transferable skills including:

• Analytical and decisioning skills through examination of case scenarios

• Team-work, collaboration through group work and assessment

• Problem solving skills related to project management, project risk assessment, project resource utilization and project communication management

• Communication skills including report writing and presentation skills to both technical and managerial audiences